Thursday, May 8, 2008

I had an afternoon open for some climbing with no shortage of destinations. I am on vacation in Colorado Springs so you don't have to go too far to find some lofty peaks worthy of climbing. When I arrived on Thursday there was 4 inches of fresh snow and the next day the wind was blowing quite strongly. I had done some research using SummitPost.com which is a great resource for climbs in an unfamiliar area. I wanted to do something over 10K but I was leery to doing anything much higher because I didn't have all my gear. So after much deliberation Raspberry it was. It was about an hour drive and the weather was much improved with some hazy sun and benign winds. I had no problem finding the trailhead with the great trip reports I had read. I layered up but for the first time in a long time I only wore shorts. The trail is an old road and there was only patchy snow and the grade is not steep at all. Despite the lack of steepness my heart was racing trying to get enough oxygen. I stayed on the road that deteriorates more into a trail and traverses the North side of the peak. I reached the summit rocks and had to poke around for a short while before I found a way up the last bit of rockwork. The views from the top were nice especially the back side of Pikes Peak which I had climbed in an earlier visit to the Springs. On the descent I mixed it up by following a faint trail that I spied on my way up. The trail spit me out on a road that I followed for a short way until it split into 3. I was starting to wonder if my sidetrack was a good idea when the the middle road that I had chosen dead ended in someone's house. I noticed the power lines to the house went in the direction I needed to go. I descended the open forest following the power lines until I reached the bottom of the gully. I realized that the gully went straight to the car. I shaved nearly a mile with my shortcut.

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About Me

I have spent my whole life exploring the lakes, valleys and high points of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area. I would love to share this ongoing odyssey. When I was younger, exploring each and every lake was the goal. In recent years I have moved on to the pursuit of climbing The Home Court and Back Court 100 peaks that encompass this great area. I hope this blog both inspires and educates.

The wilderness was originally designated the Alpine Lakes Limited Area in 1946.After exhausting debates, public meetings and with even a request by the Forest Service to veto, President Ford signed the Alpine Lakes Area Management Act into law on the afternoon of July 12, 1976, reportedly saying “anywhere so beautiful should be preserved